1994 Buick Century Safety Locks

So far, no success in finding out how to engage and disengage the child
safety locks. One suggestion was that there should be a decal with
instructions, but there are no decals, no visible switches, no latches or

anything that looks like it could be moved to change status of the safety
locks.
Does anybody have any other ideas or own one of these cars who can look it
up in the owner's manual?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Bob Giel
snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net

I'm sorry about the confusion on this matter, and the use of bandwidth, but
this could become a safety hazard, so please forgive me.
To clarify:
This is a 1994 Buick Century Station Wagon. The system uses power windows
and locks. All four door locks normally operate in unison. If the engine
is running and the vehicle is in gear, all the doors lock automatically, and
they remain locked until the engine is shut off. They do NOT unlock
automatically as long as the engine is running (even if put back in Park).
However, even with the engine running (in or out of gear) the people in the
front seats CAN always override the automatic system anytime they wish
simply by pressing a power lock switch, or manually sliding a lever in the
door, (sort of a horizontal version of the oldstyle lock buttons in older
cars.) The poor folks in the back seat can NOT do either! The rear doors
only respond to the automatic locking sequence or the lock switches in the
front doors. The rear doors can not be unlocked or locked by the people
sitting in the rear seats either manually or electronically. For the back
seats, the switches have no effect (locking or unlocking) and the manual
lever won't budge (either way) by hand. Anybody in the back seats is
effectively trapped in the rear unless they climb over the front seats, or a
person in the front seat lets them out.
The idea, of course, was to prevent a child (or pet) from accidentally
locking out their parent (child) or owner (pet) or even worse unlocking and
opening the door while the vehicle was in motion. Good idea, most of the
time, but I want to override this feature when I do not have children or
pets in the car.
Some of you mentioned the idea that a PO (previous owner) modified the car,
not so. I just got the car from a family member who was the original owner.
The owner's manual was ripped off a few years ago! The doors have never
been modified or replaced. There are NO switches, levers, or even holes in
the door jambs or doors near the latch mechanisms on any door in the car,
except for a grill (air or vent?) on the rear part of each rear door jamb.
I know that most cars with this feature have a nylon or metal lever to
engage or disengage the child safety feature, but this car seems to have
none. That's is why I am at a loss to figure this out, and came to the
newsgroup for help. Even the original shop manual (which I ordered at the
time the car was originally purchased) has no mention of this safety
feature, let alone any indication of how to override it.
It seems that anybody in the back of the car could be prevented from
emergency exit in any number of unfortunate situations because the only way
out of the car would be through one of the front doors (probably over the
bodies of anybody sitting in the front seat! This seems ridiculous to me.
So, once again, if anybody knows how to control this annoying feature, I'd
appreciate the secret. I have received many responses off line, but they all
point to a non-existent lever in the rear door(s).
TIA for any assistance, (again, sorry for the bandwidth but this really
strikes me as a safety issue.)
Bob Giel
snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net

Okay, this is a better explanation of the information you really want or
need.
I do not believe there is any way short of unplugging or disabling totally
the automatic locking feature of these rear doors.
You are going to have to make a decision: if you think this is enough of a
safety
issue for you to not want it to be active when the engine is running and in
gear,
then disconnect the rear locks and accept the loss of the safety feature of
self-locking of the rear doors for children etc. when driving.
If my memory serves me, there is a switch on the shift lever in the steering
column that operates this feature as well as others over a single wire to
the
locks. It does not operate on the front locks with one wire and the rear
locks
on another so you could disable one or the other by putting a switch in the
wire(s).
Now, I am SURE there is some mechanic in a shop near you that CAN do what
you
want by tearing off door panels and switches and running new wiring from the
front
to the back doors. It just depends on how deep your pockets are for this.
I have always told my customers: "nothing is impossible for me to do, it
just
depends on how much money you have to spend."
I really hope this helps....

but
and
My father has one of those cars, but it's not the station wagon it's the
sedan.
The door locks do not operate as you describe. With engine off and car in
park passengers in the rear can unlock their doors by pressing the unlock
button.
I suspect that this is a computer feature that was accidentally turned on by
some combination of ignition key turning and pressing of lock buttons.
your best bet is getting the owners manual. Many owners manuals are
available
on Ebay and from local wrecking yards, call around. I seem to recall that
some
details of the remote keyless entry were present in the owners manual but
not in the service manual. Unfortunately, my father has both owners and
service
manual and he does not live nearby
Ted

Bob,
Well that was a whole heap of information. Sure does clear up the
confusion about you not finding child security switches in the door
jambs.
Here is what the owners manual for mothers 91 Cadillac says about
automatic door lock option. Of course this may not apply to your Century
Wagon.
Automatic Door Lock Option
" If you have this option, just close your car doors, turn on the engine
and move the gear selector to Drive. All the doors will lock. If someone
needs to get out out while your in a drive position, just have that
person use the manual or power lock button.
When the door is closed, it will not lock. Just have that person lock
the door again. When you stop and move your gear selector to Park your
doors will unlock."
Sounds like you may ot may not have a problem with the automatic door
locks. Or GM pulled a sneaky and made it this way unbeknownst to the
public who never spoke up and complained about the system.
I would first check with Buick to see if anybody there can tell you if
this is the way the Auto Door Lock System is supposed to operate on your
car.
========Harryface
========
1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE
3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey
_~_~_~287,664 miles_~_~_
~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_
~~~The Former Fleet ~~~
89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible
78 Holiday 88 coupe
68 LeSabre convertible
73 Impala sedan

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